A Lesson Learned

When Owen arrived at the baseball game with his Dad, he was wearing a new cap. Instead of having the usual team logo, it had a logo having to do with his hip-hop group. It was a really nice cap. He had on a warm pullover (it was another cold day) and a pair of those stripe-down-the side pants that he can wear over his basketball shorts (I don’t know what they’re called.).

I said, “You look so cute today.” His smile would have brightened up the darkest day. He was beaming!

When I see Bella, I usually compliment her appearance, but I realized that I seldom remark on the boys’ appearance. Of course, I did when they were little, but it seems that after they reached a certain age, I was reluctant to do so.

Owen’s smile showed that that the boys need compliments just as much as girls. I will not be remiss in that area again.

It also occurred to me I could have a sexist attitude. Oh my! How could I? I am abashed!

An Open Letter to Tom Krisher of the AP

Tom Krisher of the Associated Press had a news item published today regarding the Buick Division of General Motors trying to appeal to younger buyers.

The lead paragraph:

“Stop me if you've heard this one before: There's this famous car brand whose average driver is more familiar with Social Security than social media.”

Shame on you, Mr. Krisher! And shame on your editor for letting this bit of stereotyping make it to publication.

Mr. Krisher, do you know any elder citizens? Are you familiar with social media? Apparently not or you would see that elders are indeed participating in huge numbers on Facebook and various blog sites. Elders are tech savvy. Some of us can even do more than send email on our computers and take pictures with our smart phones.

BTW, how old are you? Are you a young whippersnapper who shoots off his pencil before writing? Uh-oh, that seems like stereotyping of non-elders, doesn’t it?

I’m in Good Company

This morning one of the morning news shows did a story on Queen Elizabeth’s first public appearance since her recent tummy problems.

She was wearing a matching hat and coat; she looked quite queenly. Then the camera pulled back and showed her feet. Instead of wearing her modest inch and a half heels, she was wearing “sensible” (translation – ugly) shoes that look like the ones made by SAS.

Perhaps she has reached the age when comfort becomes the deciding factor when buying shoes. It’s nice to know I’m not alone in my choice of footwear.

Now if someone would kindly tell her that she really should change her hairstyle to include a little fringe of bangs and a little less hairspray. . .

More Than I Need or Want

While I enjoy these modern times, there are some things from the old days that that I miss—those little triangular car windows in the front doors, the vent knobs under the car’s dashboard that were perfect for hanging litter bags, jeans that actually reach my natural waist line, and being able to buy one bed sheet at the time.

I need a regular, white double fitted sheet, 400 or higher thread count made of cotton. I don’t need a 16” or 24” pocket, a flat sheet, or two pillow cases.

Over the last few days, I have looked at Bed, Bath, and Beyond where I did find a single fitted sheet. The problems were the deep pockets and the prohibitive cost. Target does not sell fitted sheets only, just sets. Walmart had the single sheets, but they were the kind that pill after a few washings. I also checked a couple of department stores; they all have sets only. Today I looked at 240 offerings on Amazon and not one “fitted” my criteria. Am I asking too much? Am I the only person who resents being forced to buy sets instead of a single item?

And, just what the heck is microfiber?

The next item on today’s agenda is to set up the sewing machine and patch my fitted sheet. Have I mentioned that I hate sewing? On the bright side, I can’t get any testier.

Bad Grammie! Bad Grammie!

Don’t tell anyone, but I’m playing hooky today. After 7 days out of 8 with the grandchildren’s games (baseball and volley ball), I hit the wall yesterday.

Yesterday morning there was a 9:00 am game an hour’s drive away. I woke a few minutes late and had to skip breakfast. Mr. Fixit likes to be on time, and I thought I could get something to stabilize my glucose levels at the concession stand. The concession stand was a long walk, and I didn’t feel like going that far after getting very little sleep, as usual, and getting up early. There were two games. By 3:30 pm I thought my numbers were dropping like a stone. We stopped and I had a real Coke with lunch which causes the levels to rise quickly. I don’t remember much after eating. I guess I fell asleep in the car. When I woke up I was in my own bed still wearing the clothes I had worn to the game and still wearing two pairs of glasses (my regular glasses and a pair of sunglasses that fit over the regular ones). I know that I made it in from the car under my own steam; I just don’t remember it.

I then decided to take the day off today.

The weather has been nuts, too. We were all sunburned last weekend. It was cool, but the sun was bright. I didn’t think about burning until it was too late.

The night baseball games have been cold and windy—miserable in a word. Even yesterday with the sun shining, the wind made it so cold that I was shivering. I retreated to the car during one game.
The comfortable games were Bella’s. They play inside a gym, thank goodness!

Tomorrow it starts all over. We have only one  off day. I have to go to most of them. I need to go with Mr. Fixit to the away games. He has a terrible sense of direction, and I worry about him driving alone at night.

If the weather gets a little warmer, it will be easier. Right now, I feel as if permafrost has formed on my behind.

DST–ARRGGH!!! (My Annual Rant)

What a difference an hour makes. As usual, the time change has screwed up my routine, boring life.  On Eastern Standard Time, I go to bed at 11:00 pm, read until midnight or 1:00 am, and depending on the severity of my insomnia, I wake somewhere around 3:00 am. I read until 5:30 am or 6:00 am, take a medication that requires an empty stomach and no food until an hour after taking it. I then go back to sleep for an hour and I’m up at 7:00 am. By 10:00 am, I have dressed, prepared two breakfasts (Mr. Fixt and I eat totally different morning meals), loaded the dishwasher, read the news on line, worked two jigsaw puzzles, and solved two crosswords.

Since I sprung (as much as a 67 year old can spring) forward that one lost hour seems to cause me several hours of frustration. It is now almost 11:30 am, and I’m just now finishing my routine morning stuff. It ruins my whole day. It takes me months for my body to adjust.

Pardon me for shouting, but I HATE DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME! I’m so angry at Ben Franklin, the old buzzard.

(DST also makes me testy.)

Handyman Extraordinaire

I decided I wanted a scroll frame to use for embroidery. I bought the frame. It was too big and clumsy for me to use without a stand. I checked the prices and found they were priced a little out of my budget. The cheapest one I saw was $69. I described to Mr. Fixit the features I would like to have and asked him if he could make me one. This is the result

The scroll frame flips so that I can work on the back without disassembling the whole thing. I need to work on the back when fastening starting and ending threads.

He used scrap wood. We did have to buy a couple of screws and the knobs.

Sometime ago, I described another little item I needed to keep my crochet thread and yarn cat-hair free. After I explained what I needed, this is what he came up with—works perfectly. I can use it with lots of different thread and yarn holders.

He’s so handy to have around.